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Reaction to the 2013 Budget: Good news for small recruitment firms!

This year’s Budget provided us with some good news for small businesses and the recruitment sector...

Headlines:

Around 450,000 SMEs will benefit from National Insurance tax relief – the best news from this Budget!

98% of SMEs will benefit from employment allowance and 1/3 of employers will pay no job tax at all

First £10,000 of salaries will pay no income tax from 2014 – good news for lower earners

Increasing pressure on tax avoiders – good news for businesses who pay the right amounts of tax

Britain is open for business – great news to tell the rest of the world and also for the recruitment sector

“The reduction in corporation tax was a smart move by the Chancellor: Just the tonic that we needed where corporation tax rates will be reduced from 2015 to 20% and abolition of transfer taxes on AIM shares. This puts tax where it should be with a focus on reduced rates resulting in the higher earners paying a higher proportion of total taxes raised than the populist concentration on rates of tax. This is a jobs boosting Budget which has to be seen as great news for the recruitment sector.

“This was a fantastic Budget that supports SMEs, particularly with the biggest announcement regarding the Employment Allowance – around 450,000 small firms with benefit from National Insurance tax relief, worth £2,000, which means one third of SMEs will not pay any jobs tax at all. This is excellent news for those recruitment agencies looking to grow their business by recruiting their first member of staff or a team of lower paid employees. This is a great boost for SMEs in the form of a ‘tax off jobs’ and also helps to get more people into employment!

“Lower paid workers will be delighted to hear that there will be no income tax on the first £10,000 of salaries; this is good news for households still struggling to juggle family finances and making their hard earned money stretch further. We manage payroll systems for recruitment companies across the country, so are aware about what this means to certain employees and taxing those who have to claim back tax credits doesn’t make sense.

“More still needs to be done to clamp down on the dodgy avoidance practices, so it’s great to see tax avoidance high on the agenda, especially where offshore employment intermediaries are concerned and pushing them more into the spotlight! It’ll be interesting to see what happens next regarding discussions with the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, where tax avoidance is often a legal practice.

“The ‘aspiration nation’ phrase was the constant theme throughout the Chancellor’s Budget this year and is certainly reflected in his key points. We should be proud of our businesses communities and continue to work together to grow our businesses, employ more staff and as a result, see more profits to make our hard work worthwhile! The recruitment sector is at the heart of this and we’re delighted to be supporting them to grow their businesses.”